The Kabocha Wine
The Kabocha Wine (Theかぼちゃワイン) [English: The Pumpkin Wine] is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mitsuru Miura. It was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 1981 to 1984. The Kabocha Wine received the 1983 Kodansha Manga Award for the shōnen category. It has been adapted into a 95 episode anime series by Toei Animation.
| Theかぼちゃワイン (The Kabocha Wain) |
|
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Mitsuru Miura |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Magazine |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | 1981 – 1984 |
| Volumes | 18 |
| Manga | |
| The Kabocha Wine — Sequel | |
| Written by | Mitsuru Miura |
| Published by | Seirindo |
| Published | October 15, 2006 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Manga | |
| The Kabocha Wine — Another | |
| Written by | Mitsuru Miura |
| Published by | Akita Shoten |
| Magazine | Play Comic |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | June 20, 2007 – 2009 |
| Volumes | 6 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Kimio Yabuki |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
| Original network | TV Asahi |
| Original run | July 5, 1982 – August 27, 1984 |
| Episodes | 95 |
| Anime film | |
| The Kabocha Wine: Nita no Aijou Monogatari | |
| Directed by | Kimio Yabuki |
| Produced by | Chiaki Imada |
| Music by | Osamu Shooji |
| Studio | Toei Animation |
| Released | July 14, 1984 |
| Runtime | 24 minutes |
| Live-action film | |
| The Kabocha Wine - Another | |
| Directed by | Hitoshi Ishikawa |
| Released | October 26, 2007 |
| Runtime | 78 minutes |
Summary
Transfer student, Aoba Shunsuke, arrived at Sunshine School only to find the premises empty. He was secretly gleeful to be the first to reach the school, oblivious to the fact that it was Foundation Day and a rest day for the institution. At that moment, a big-sized "L"(Eru) beauty by the name of Natsumi appeared before him and the two of them hit off together even though Shunsuke was so much smaller than her. Shunsuke's mother runs a women's apparel busines but the shop is in need of manpower. Shunsuke offers to help out at the shop but fumbles a lot because he does not know how to interact with the ladies. Eru decides to step in and help out around the shop and this pleases Shunsuke's mother. This is a romance story that shares the joys and woes of the "SL" combi between Shunsuke and Eru.
Characters
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1. Shunsuke Aoba (青葉春助, Aoba Shunsuke) Voiced by: Toshio Furukawa
- Shunsuke is the main character of the series, and Natsumi's boyfriend. He is very short high school student, being only 145 cm (4’8”). Generally gruff, proud, and stubborn, Shunsuke is nonetheless a good-hearted, strong, and brave guy. He is afraid of dogs, loves to eat, and does not disdain to fight.
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2. Natsumi Asaoka (朝丘夏美, Asaoka Natsumi) Nickname: L (エル, Eru) Voiced by: Keiko Yokozawa
- Natsumi is the female protagonist of the series, and Shunsuke's girlfriend. She is taller and bustier than the average Japanese girl, being 180 cm (5’11”). She is very sweet, nice, intelligent, judicious, stubborn, energetic, cheerful, and agreeable.
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3. Kotaro Hayakawa (早川小太郎, Hayakawa Kotarou) Voiced by: Kiyonobu Suzuki (Yoku Shioya) for episodes 2, 3, and 9)
- Kotaro is Shunsuke's classmate. He is usually very shy and timid, and admires Shunsuke for his masculinity and bravery. He wishes to be just like Shunsuke someday, and does whatever he can to impress him. Outside of school, his family owns a flower shop.
Additional
The sequel to the manga, The Kabocha Wine — Sequel (The かぼちゃワイン sequel, lit. 'The Pumpkin Wine — Sequel') is a one-shot manga published by Seirindo on October 15, 2006.
The third series of the manga, The Kabocha Wine — Another (The♥かぼちゃワインAnother, lit. 'The Pumpkin Wine — Another') is published by Akita Shoten.
The sequel to the anime was in the form of an animated movie, called The Kabocha Wine: Nita no Aijou Monogatari (Ｔｈｅかぼちゃワイン ニタの愛情物語, The Pumpkin Wine: Nita's Love Story), which was released on July 14, 1984, by Toei Animation.
On October 26, 2007, wint released a DVD for the live-action movie adaptation of the third manga series, called The Kabocha Wine — Another (The かぼちゃワインAnother, lit. 'The Pumpkin Wine — Another'). Directed by Hitoshi Ishikawa, the movie starred Yoko Kumada.